Fausto Fernández
Fausto Fernandez in the Tucson Museum of Art
This October opens the exhibition Dress Matters: Clothing as Metaphor, where you’ll find Fausto Fernandez in the Tucson Museum of Art. Fausto’s monumental painting from Turner Carroll Gallery– “Waves of Impact as a Method of Truth-Telling”-– will be featured in the exhibition at the Tucson Museum of Art. The museum says the exhibition “examines clothing in art as symbols of power and identity. Artists use garments to address interpersonal issues and conditions as well as to relay stories and raise issues about gender, age, history, society, race, and culture.” Fausto’s inclusion in the Tucson Museum of Art’s exhibition is significant, because it places his painting alongside such contemporary art luminaries as Christian Boltanski, Robert Longo, Nick Cave, Jim Dine, Robert Mapplethorpe, Andy Warhol, and Catherine Opie. Though Fernandez is still quite a young artist, his work have been drawing attention from several museums, art centers, and public arts institutions lately. Recently, Fernandez won the public art commission for a major installation of his work at the Hollywood/Burbank Airport. Fausto’s works have also been included in a traveling exhibition titled “Beauty Reigns,” at the McNay Art Museum and the Akron Art Museum. Fernandez was also awarded several arts residencies in the last year, including a residence in Miami, Florida–the Eileen Kaminsky Family Foundation.
The Tucson Museum of Art describes the exhibition as follows: “Dress Matters: Clothing as Metaphor examines clothing in art as symbols of power and identity. At once functional and aesthetic, garments are worn to protect the body from the elements, enhance the beauty of the wearer, establish rank in society, and signal to others our differences or similarities. Garments also point to interpersonal issues and conditions as well as larger societal and cultural concerns. Works in this exhibition reveal how artists use concepts and images of clothing to relay compelling messages about gender, age, ethnicity, history, profession and the world around us in general.”